The developer of the Northwest Plaza shopping center told the County Tax Increment Financing Commission on May 23 that Menards is interested in purchasing 17 acres of the site to build a 160,000 sq. ft. store.

The Eau Claire, Wis. based home-improvement chain is moving into the St. Louis area market and is looking at sites in Richmond Heights, St. Peters and the O’Fallon-Lake Saint Louis area, the newspaper reported.

At 1.8 million sq. ft., Northwest Plaza was the largest in the word when it opened in the 1960s but has since fallen into foreclosure. The $106 million redevelopment project will not be possible without $33 million in tax increment assistance over several phases and $7.8 million in brownfield tax credits from the state for environmental work, the developer said.